The public is invited to the meeting in Parksville where, among other things, a key engineering study on the water demands, storage and supply alternatives and associated capital cost requirements will be presented to the board of the Arrowsmith Water Service on April 26.
The report confirms the need in Parksville and the RDN and the lack of it Qualicum Beach.
While Qualicum Beach works out its level of involvement in the joint project with Parksville and the regional district, the two larger partners say they need water now and need to continue with ongoing work on a new water intake and treatment facility.
“The priority for the City of Parksville and the RDN is to complete the new governance model as soon as possible to allow work to begin immediately ... “Parksville acting mayor Chris Burger said in a press release.
“Such a delay may be acceptable to the Town of Qualicum Beach given that the engineering report indicates that the town will likely not need to supplement their water supply from AWS for a further 30 to 40 years, however such a delay is not acceptable to the City of Parksville nor Regional District of Nanaimo,” said RDN chair Joe Stanhope.
A joint press release from Parksville and the RDN says that waiting for Qualicum Beach to hold a referendum in November could delay the already tight timeline more than a year.
The report also outlines the need for the intake and treatment facility by the end of 2016 and details scheduled items for 2011 including: ongoing conceptual level planning, discussions and exploring funding with senior governments, acquiring land, applying for permits, water and feasibility studies and scheduling open houses.
The AWS board meets Tuesday, April 26 at 9 a.m. at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre.